


Solitary Rose

by Pira



Category: RWBY
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-31
Updated: 2017-02-11
Packaged: 2018-04-18 06:30:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4695713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pira/pseuds/Pira
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ruby Rose has had a tough life. </p>
<p>She's had to go through things nobody should ever have to go through, and she's strong because of it. However, she doesn't know how to interact with people, and is slightly afraid of them. </p>
<p>A new menace appears though, and it threatens to destroy everything... forcing Ruby to fight with all she has, and with those she calls "friend".</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sorrow

"Haah, this isn't looking good is it Ruby?"

Summer Rose knew that she wasn't going to make it out of this situation alive, and it killed her. Joking to herself, she thought about how that was worse to her than the dozens of beowolves slowly starting to surround her.

Perhaps if she didn't have the extra burden that was currently shivering in fear clutching one of her legs, Summer Rose may have been able to walk away from the coming fight unscathed. However, she knew she would never abandon her Ruby like that, and so she was worried.

Worried about whether or not she would be able to watch her precious rose grow up.

Ruby Rose on the other hand, a mere five year old girl that barely understood what was happening, had much simpler things on her mind. Fear. Which is why it wasn't until the 3rd time her mom had called her name that Ruby managed to move again, and looked up towards her mother.

"Ruby, I want you to get out of here alright? Just run as fast as you can for as long as you can." Her mother told her while still watching the beowolves. "I'll be right behind you, so if you don't see me immediately don't come back for me. I'll definitely catch up."

Flashing her trademark grin at her daughter, Summer gave her thumbs up and said "I promise."

Summer handed off the bag of supplies that she had gathered and tossed it to Ruby. Although Ruby caught the bag, and put it on she still didn't understand what was happening. Looking at her mother, Ruby was still paralyzed by fear.

It wasn't until her mother forcefully grabbed her and threw her a distance away from herself and the beowolves that Ruby's feet started to move.

She ran, and ran, and ran, until she couldn't run anymore and fell face first into the dirt, snot and tears all over her face.

Ruby just laid still, letting herself cry her tears and collect herself. Being allowed to think Ruby understood that her mother had lied to her about being right behind her, and so Ruby could only cry harder.

As the night progressed, and the first glimpses of morning light could be seen, Ruby silently stood up, wiping off the dirt and tears from her face, and started back in the direction she had come.

She did not have the strength to run anymore, so she could only walk and pass the time wrapped up within her own mind... It seemingly trying to protect her from what she knew was going to be waiting for her.

It wasn't until the sun had fully emerged from the horizon, when she finally made it back to where her mom was.

She hadn't been attacked by a beowolf the entire way back, which should have bothered Ruby, but she couldn't think about that fact as she noticed a figure collapsed on the ground in front of her.

Running up to the person she instinctively knew was her mother, Ruby once again felt the urge to cry.

Summer Rose had did it. She had killed all of the beowolves that had overrun her village and threatened her and her daughter. It wasn't without cost though. She had poured quite a bit of her aura into her daughter to protect her from the rest of the forest, and there had been many more beowolves than she had expected.

Still, Summer had done it. Using the full power of her Semblance and then pushing her body to the limit, Summer had managed to kill every beowolf that had appeared, but not without her own fair share of injuries.

She knew that she was dying, but her thoughts were focused solely on Ruby, hoping that her daughter had at least run far enough to reach the next town, and take refuge there.

As she started to feel the sleepiness that marked the end of her life, Summer felt a small, shivering weight fall on top of her, jostling her awake.

She was paralyzed seeing Ruby there, holding on to her mom as best she could, and wanted desperately to tell Ruby to run, to leave her, that she was sorry she wouldn't be able to keep her promise, anything to let her daughter survive, but all she could do was let her tears fall freely.

Ruby understood everything her mom had wanted to say, but she couldn't say anything either, crying because she understood this was the last time she would see her mother.

Slowly, Ruby could feel her mother passing, but she had cried all that she could cry. She knew that she didn't have the power to save her mother, and because her mom had to protect her, she had died.

She hated her lack of strength. Hated that she was a burden that had cost a life, and she would never let herself become such a thing ever again. There were fresh tears flowing down her face, but Ruby now had a fire in her eyes, and woe to those that crossed her path.

What she didn't realize at the time was that there was a massive amount of power swirling around her, fueled by her grief and her rage. Ruby, at the age of five years old, had unlocked her aura, and it was strong. Even if Ruby had noticed she wouldn't have cared. She could only cry for her mom.

It wasn't until the sun was high in the sky that Ruby managed to gather herself together.

Ruby knew it was strange, that she had collected herself so quickly after her mother's death, but her mom was a huntress, and she had adopted from a young age the same mindset her mother had. Ruby knew that she couldn't just keep grieving and crying like a little kid, and forced herself to grow up.

To say that Ruby's heart hadn't broken into pieces when her mother died would be a lie, but she knew that she had to survive. She couldn't let her mother's sacrifice be in vain.

Ruby was confident that she could survive this though, as Summer had taken every precaution with her only child, so that by this time Ruby could survive on her own no matter the location or environment.

So Ruby steeled herself. It was hard, and she still cried, but she could do what she needed to now, and that was bury her mother.

Keeping with the things her mother had taught her, Ruby stripped her mother of any useable gear. She kept the strange scythe that her mother had used and loved, and the red cloak that was her mom's signature look. She collected as many bullets as she could for the weapon, but realized she couldn't effectively defend herself with the scythe as it was still too heavy for her.

After checking her mother's body for anything else could use, Ruby set about making a grave.

It was near sunset before Ruby had finished burying her mother. She finished off the crude grave by dragging a large, smooth stone to mark the site.

It was only after she had finished saying her last goodbyes that Ruby's stomach finally let it known how empty it was, but as much as Ruby would have loved to eat something to quiet her crying stomach, she knew that she had to find some kind of shelter first.

Gathering the bag of supplies, Ruby set off from the clearing, hoping to find some kind of shelter before it got too dark to see. Looking back at the grave one last time, Ruby couldn't say anything. It was too painful to talk, and too painful to leave her mother behind.

Ruby let her instincts guide her feet, and hoped that there was someplace to sleep peacefully for the night. She didn't know how long she would be in this forest, but she didn't know where to go to find any other people, so she could only do her best alone.

It wasn't until the day was at the cusp of night before Ruby finally found a promising place. It was a cave, but it seemed naturally hidden and out of sight, Ruby only having managed to find it because she tripped.

She knew that there was a possibility that the cave might already have an occupant or two, but Ruby didn't care. She was exhausted, hungry, and depressed. So, without a second thought Ruby walked into the mouth of the cave.

She didn't immediately hear any snarling or growling, so Ruby set up a makeshift campfire near the mouth of the cave so that the smoke could escape. Deciding to look around now that she had some light, Ruby found that the cave was small, but luckily there were no grimm occupying it.

It even had a pool of water that Ruby could drink from (after testing it first of course). However, there were more pressing things on her mind, and that was food.

She managed to find a few cans of food after rummaging around in the supply bag for a few minutes, but she knew that the little amount of cans she had would not be able to last her. She would have to gather fruits and edible plants, and eventually she would have to hunt.

For now though Ruby was content to open a can of what she presumed were beans and dug into them heartily. After finishing off the can, and preventing herself from opening any more, Ruby washed down the beans with water.

She now had time to think about what she was going to do, and everything that had happened over this short, but incredibly painful day.

Her goal was to eventually find people, and somehow manage to contact the uncle that her mother had always talked about. She thought that maybe he would be a nice person, and take care of her. However, she knew that first and foremost she had to survive, and she couldn't just struggle by to survive. No, Ruby Rose was going to beat this forest, and she was going to thrive off of it as she did it.

Her plans settled, Ruby began to let herself fully grieve for her mother's death as any five year old would. She did remember to stay quiet enough that the local grimm wouldn't give her any problems, but she cried the last of her heart out, and slowly drifted off to sleep.

This marked the day that Summer Rose died, but the day Ruby Rose was truly born.


	2. Beast

_\- 2 weeks after Summer Rose died -_

Ruby was once again woken by the terrifyingly deep rumble from some monster that was inhabiting the forest Ruby now called home. Sighing to herself and knowing that she wouldn't be getting any more sleep anytime soon, Ruby stood up, stretching lightly to ease the stiffness and slight chill from her slowly developing muscles.

The clockwork rumble had started a week after Ruby had found her cave, and it never failed to wake her up at around the same time each morning. Ruby, although chilled to the bone every time she heard the malicious noise, was glad for it because she was able to take full advantage of the day by waking up with the sun every morning.

Having finished stretching, Ruby glanced back at the cave that she considered something of a home-base. The cave was about twenty feet deep, and just tall enough that an average sized adult wouldn't have to crouch. It had improved slightly in the couple of weeks that Ruby had been living there, and she was happy to see that there was only a little bit of cave slime left on the walls. Now that she had gotten used to the cave, it was bigger than she had originally thought, and she had managed to divide the space efficiently. In a corner near the back of the cave, so that the smells couldn't escape, she had stored her meat drying racks. She had her sleeping bag in a secluded part of the cave, that she had only managed to find after she had dropped some berries behind a stalagmite next to the pool of water she drank from. After navigating around the stalagmite, she found that there was just enough room for her to sleep without a risk of falling into the water in the middle of the night. She still had nightmares from the events two weeks ago, and she didn't want to risk dirtying her water supply because of her thrashing. The rest of her supplies were pushed against the wall across from her alcove and about midway between her drying racks and the mouth of the cave. This gave her space to do her cardio and strength building (though she would tend to do it outside of the cave because she hated the lingering smell of sweat), and she would go running through the forest to build her stamina and speed.

She had been pushing herself to the limits every day, and she could feel how sore her muscles were, but she couldn't stop pushing herself. She had to get much stronger than she was so that she could defend herself.

At the moment all Ruby could do was run away from any grimm that appeared, but she found out early on that she was good at running, and she loved it. No grimm, not even the beowolves, that are known for their speed, could keep up with her, and if she had been anyone else, she would have gotten cocky because of it. She wasn't anyone else though, and she knew very well that arrogance meant death.

She would never allow herself to think that her skills were "good enough", so she constantly pushed herself. She had sworn to herself that she would thrive in this forest, and with her current skills that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

It was with these thoughts that Ruby headed out of her cave, and made the trek to her favorite training spot.

It was a secluded area surrounded by thick trees that gave off a sense of peace. For some reason grimm would not enter this area, and Ruby knew it.

She had accidentally stumbled into it after running from an ursa major, and crashing through the vines that grew between the trees (she had a habit of not paying attention while running, letting instincts guide her feet). She had thought that it was the end for her, and that she would be able to be with her mother again, but she didn't feel any attack coming. Instead she glanced behind her, in the direction she had come and noticed the ursa was merely staring at her. It wasn't trying to attack her, and it strangely wasn't even roaring in frustration. It just sat there almost as if it was thinking about something, and then to make the already strange day Ruby was having stranger, the ursa just turned around and left… presumably heading back to where it lived. She did manage to hear it snort in frustration as it lumbered away, but Ruby had no explanation for why it didn't attack.

Ruby wasn't one to decline a gift though, so she happily took her time to explore the meadow, and made sure she could make it from her cave to it even in total darkness.

It was here that Ruby did her training if she could. Some days there were too many grimm prowling about to safely reach the glade even with her speed, but most days it was here that she trained. Today, like every other for the past week and a half since she found it, she would push herself to the limits of exhaustion. She didn't count the reps for the exercises that she did, but just kept going until she was physically unable to do any more.

Ruby always did a core 3 exercises: push-ups, crunches, and squats. She would supplement the 3 with other exercises she had seen her mom doing when she had been younger. It was supposed to fully round out all the muscles in her body, and make it durable and strong, but Ruby didn't understand the science behind it, and just followed the teachings of her mom.

She still did not possess the strength or size needed to wield the scythe that was still in the cave with the other supplies, but Ruby was determined to fight using her mother's beloved weapon. Until she could wield it, Ruby could only train her body as much as possible, and have to make due with the sticks she had sharpened the first few days in the cave. It was these sticks that she hunted with, and although it took Ruby some time to get over the fact that she'd have to kill the cute little bunnies to survive, she at least had a food source she could rely on after her canned food ran out.

Aching all over now that she had finished her daily exercises, Ruby was still somehow looking forward to her run through the forest. Even though it was always a bit painful because of how sore she was, she was always energized when she was running because it gave her a sense of freedom. She didn't have to think about how she was going to survive, and she could allow all her stress and responsibilities to fall away as she ran. Of course to say that it was an easy run would do it discredit. She pushed herself harder while she was running than anything else. It would be no different today.

Ruby first made sure that there weren't any grimm around before departing the glade, and then settled into a light jog heading down the trail she always took. She always allowed herself a full minute to get to her top speeds and then race through the forest. She couldn't tell it herself, but If anyone was around to see her, they would have only seen a blur in passing.

Grinning to herself like a mad person, she suddenly planted both feet firmly in the ground and put all of her leg muscles to work, lifting her easily off the ground and onto a low hanging branch. It was here when the real fun began though, as Ruby dashed through the trees with such a natural balance that she wouldn't have to worry about falling off.

It was only in these treetops, feeling the wind caressing her face, that Ruby truly felt good. She felt as if she was flying, jumping above the very tops of the trees, and then slowly coming back down into the branches and landing easily. Ruby would run for hours like this, and enjoy every minute of it, even though the soreness she would feel afterwards would render her unable to move.

She had no problems along the run, though she did see a few grimm here and there on the forest floor, but she was high in the trees, and they wouldn't be able to get to her. She also made sure she stayed under the cover of the thick leaves whenever she heard a nevermore cry. She had learned to play it safe after the first couple times a nevermore almost caught her during her "flights".

After a few hours of running, Ruby made it back to the cave drenched in sweat. She didn't stay long as she quickly gathered a spare set of clothes and left the cave to go wash off her sweat in a nearby river, and maybe hunt a rabbit or two if she felt up to it.

Out of all the places that Ruby went to as she traveled through the forest, the river was by far the most dangerous. Besides the fact that she'd be exposed to the elements and unable to immediately flee from any grimm in the area, Ruby knew that the river was frequented by many things, and most of them didn't like the fact that she was in their forest. She had only visited the river a few times because of how dangerous it was, but today she desperately needed to take a bath, and that's what she went to do.

Hiding in a nearby bush, Ruby watched the area around the river with such intense focus that it would have put many to shame. Seeing that the coast was all clear, Ruby cautiously left the meager protection of the bush, and slowly walked towards the river, careful not to make a single sound as she did. Still carefully observing her surroundings for any telltale growling or noises, Ruby quietly stripped off the simple skirt and t-shirt that she wore. Now down to only her underwear Ruby quietly took them off and slowly let herself sink into the chilling river. To Ruby the river was the perfect temperature to cool her down after all her exercise, and wash her body off. Even while carefully washing herself, and making sure she cleaned every nook and cranny to get all the excess dirt off of her, Ruby was focused on her surroundings.

Letting a content sigh escape her lips, Ruby knew she had to leave the river before anything did show up, and so reluctantly got out of the nice cool water. She dried herself off as best she could, and once she was content that she wouldn't get her clothes wet, and cause her to be uncomfortable, Ruby dressed as quickly as she could.

It was right as she was pulling on her favorite black top that she heard it, a faint but definite growling noise, and it was drawing closer. Hastily pulling the rest of her shirt down, she gathered up the rest of her clothes as quickly as she could, and sprinted back towards her cave.

Once back at her cave, she threw her clothes to the side and set up her mom's scythe in gun form, aiming it at the mouth of the cave. She doubted that whatever it was that had growled at her had kept up with her sprint, but she could never be too careful.

After waiting for about half an hour Ruby decided that the beast hadn't been able to keep up, and had given up on her. Letting out a sigh of relief, Ruby allowed the fatigue from her training to catch up, and she passed out.

Waking up, Ruby realized that her stomach was rumbling worse than the monster that woke her up every morning, and decided to cook some of the rabbit meat she had drying. It only took a few minutes to cook, and the meat wasn't very good, but it was something and that made her tolerate the less than desirable meat. She rid herself of the taste as much as possible by drinking some of the water in the cave, but it didn't help all that much. It never did.

By the time Ruby had finished eating, and her stomach was a little bit happy, it was almost dark. She figured she still had an hour or two of daylight left, and couldn't decide what she wanted to do, so she settled with going back to the glade.

Remaining alert as usual as she walked to the glade, Ruby couldn't help but feel like something was off, but she couldn't place it. Shrugging and figuring she would just put more focus into her surroundings listening for anything to happen, Ruby walked on.

After a few minutes of walking Ruby had again arrived at the glade, with not a single grimm along the way. It wasn't until stepped through the vines that marked the entrance she had created to the glade that Ruby finally realized why she felt something foreboding.

Standing there, larger than any other grimm she had ever seen was a beowolf, but even she could tell that it was very old. It had more bone plating on it than even the few boarbatusks that she had seen in the forest, and every inch of those bone plates were covered in scratches and dents. This creature was dangerous and Ruby knew it, but she was paralyzed by fear and couldn't move.

_Why does this keep happening to me?_  She thought to herself as she began to cry. It was as if fate didn't want her to survive, and it threw everything it could at her. She couldn't resist it though. She was too paralyzed by fear and despair to move her legs though her instincts were screaming at her to get out of there.

Suddenly, she fell backwards and regained the ability to move. She didn't know why she had suddenly fallen backwards, but she didn't have time to think about it as she immediately began sprinting faster than she had ever done before. She also didn't notice that rose petals had formed where she had been, having activated her semblance for the first time. Before she took off running though, she did see the beast looking back at her with penetrating red eyes.

Red eyes that didn't let her get any sleep that night as she hid and cried in her little alcove.

\- ? -

_I have known that there was a little souling here, but I have not the care to consume it. It is weak, and I am strong, and I, unlike my foolish brethren, have a greater purpose._

_I must find the master, and aid him as is my duty. It has been many a millennia since I first had these thoughts of the master, and I have grown tired of waiting. I will find him on my own if need be, and tear any of the soulings apart that get in my way._

_None possess the power to stop me anymore, and that is why I have grown weary of them. They do not give me the excitement of the battle, nor the thrill of the possibility of death. That is all I seek._

_That souling though, the one that smelt of fear and despair, it was different from the other soulings I have encountered, but I do not know why. Perhaps the master would know._

_I will leave my home to you for now souling, for I have more important matters to attend to, but I'm interested to see what will become of you._

_To the master I have yet to find, my name is Fenrir, and I hope you can entertain me at least a little._


	3. Hope

_Mom,_

_It's been 2 years since I started my new life in this forest, and 2 years since you gave your life to protect me from those beowolves._

_I still miss you, but I've finally accepted that you're not coming back. I'll be a strong girl for you though Mom, and make you proud. I've decided that I'm going to follow in your footsteps and become a huntress._

_You had to retire early to raise me after Dad passed away, but I remember when you had friends over and they would tell me stories of how many people you saved and how strong you were._

_I've decided that I want the power to save other people as well. I want to do good in this world, and I need the power to protect as many people as possible. I want to be able to save a town like ours before it gets overrun by grimm, and more than anything else I just want to make you proud._

_I know that it will be difficult and that I'll want to give up many times during the journey. I hate to say that I've almost given up a few times in these past couple years, but I will continue to fight because if I don't, who else will?_

_Please Mom, wherever you are, watch me. I promise I'll make you proud._

_Love,_

_Your daughter, Ruby Rose_

_P.S. I did it! I can use your scythe, and defend myself now. I'm sorry if you don't want me to use it, but it's just so awesome! I named it Crescent Rose because the blade part totally looks like a crescent moon, and rose because well, it's the only family I have right now._

_P.P.S. Don't worry, I'm doing fine. That really old beowolf thing hasn't been here in a long time. I still don't use the glade anymore though. It seems after it left the rest of the grimm invaded the place. I've had to use my cave as my exercise area since then (even though I really hate the smell of sweat)._

With that, Ruby Rose, now 7 years old, set down the pencil she had created not too long ago. She figured that it was a good time to finally visit her mother, and she could only think of the letter to tell her mother how she felt. She wasn't going to trust her voice when she was there.

Shaking her head to clear it of her negative thoughts, Ruby stood from the makeshift desk she had carved out of the cave earlier in the year, and neatly folded her letter. She put the letter in the breast pocket of the dark black shirt she was currently wearing and made sure it was secure before pulling on a red and black hoodie over the shirt.

Equipping the holster/belt that she had made to hold Crescent Rose and as much ammo as she could carry for her scythe-sniper, Ruby turned back to look at the cave to make sure everything was secure before she set off for the day. Satisfied that everything she owned was in its proper place, Ruby departed the cave. This time without checking for any grimm before she left.

She still tread cautiously through the forest as she instinctively made her way back to her mother's grave, but she was confident in her skills wielding her sniper-scythe. It may not be her beloved yet, but she was growing closer to it by the day.

She had walked for about 5 minutes before she sensed the two presences behind her and calmly kept walking forward, pretending to be unaware of the approaching ursa.

The ursa continued to stalk closer and closer to the seemingly oblivious girl, with the larger (and slower) of the two hanging back to let the smaller one make the kill. The ursa silently lifted its front paw as it prepared for the downward strike that would kill any normal souling, and as the paw came crashing down to earth the ursa began rejoicing in its victory.

"Now now, that's very rude Mr. Bear." a voice said from above the ursa that had just struck the ground. "Wait, what if you're not a mister but a misses? Then would I be the rude one?"

The ursa glanced up at where the increasingly annoying voice had come from to see the same souling it had thought it killed sitting on top of its head with a malicious grin. If the ursa had been older and more intelligent it may have run away from the abnormal souling, but it wasn't, and roared in frustration at the thing on its head.

Ruby's grin only got bigger at the reaction she had gotten from the ursa. ' _I'm going to enjoy this'_  she thought to herself as she casually front flipped off the ursa's head, and made a perfect landing. She slowly turned back to the creature still roaring at her and lazily drew her weapon.

The beast, now recognizing the weapon in the souling's hands as dangerous, rushed towards Ruby, intent on tearing her apart with its sharp claws.

"You're going to have to try harder than that Mr. Bear" Ruby told the ursa as she swung her scythe in an arc, purposefully only deflecting the paw coming at her. She hadn't had fun in a long time, so she was going to make sure she fully enjoyed the fight against the two ursa.

The other, bigger, ursa was quite a bit older than the young one it accompanied, and it could clearly feel the bloodlust that the souling was giving off. However, the older ursa knew that if it didn't do anything, the younger one it traveled with would die. Resolving itself, the ursa blocked out the bloodlust, and charged towards the undefended back of the souling.

Ruby had expected that the other ursa would try to attack her of course, and purposefully left her back open to it. She had honed her senses to an abnormal level over the past two years, and she had better awareness of her surroundings than some faunus did (not that she knew that or what faunus were). So when the bigger ursa came charging at her, Ruby had no fear. She gracefully jumped over the bear that was as tall as a single story building (and a half almost) and fired three of her rifle bullets into the ursa's back in the weak points of its armor, propelling herself away from the beast. She landed as gracefully as she had jumped and glanced up to see the smaller ursa charging towards her.

' _Well, one of them is a bit smart at the very least'_ she calmly thought to herself as she brought her scythe up to a striking position. She let her grin spread as the beast continued towards her, fully intent on taking its kill. The beast recoiled in shock as the souling it kept somehow missing suddenly appeared beside the ursa with its fearsome scythe already mid-swing. The ursa could do nothing as it felt the cold steel pierce its side and leave a deep gash before cleanly exiting as the beast continued barrelling on.

Ruby knew that the smaller one would die even if she didn't cut it up any more, but she still had to watch out because it could still move and deal her damage if she was careless. While thinking this, Ruby focused her gaze on the larger and stronger ursa as it let out an ear splitting roar at the damage done to its partner.

It was blinded by rage, and Ruby knew it. ' _It seems all my fun is ruined'_  she thought to herself as she let out a sigh. "It isn't any fun when you just thoughtlessly attack me you know. It's not worth fighting when it's this easy" she said aloud to the two ursa.

' _Oh well, I suppose I'll just settle this quickly then'_ she thought to herself as she struck her scythe's blade into the ground and aimed her rifle at the charging overgrown bear. She quickly pulled the trigger five times with pinpoint accuracy, hitting the same spot each time, and damaging the bone plate on the top of the ursa's head. She had let the ground absorb the shock from the rifle much like a sniper's tripod, and after firing her fifth shot Ruby quickly spun around, drawing the scythe from the ground fluidly, and swung it towards the exposed spot in the ursa's bone plate.

She didn't count on the smaller ursa pushing the larger one out of the way at the very last second though. She couldn't stop the momentum of her blade as it arced through the air, and the cold steel once again met with the smaller ursa's flesh. The force of the blade was too much for the younger ursa's body to stop, much to its regret, and the blade continued its trajectory straight through the spine of the beast, severing it and killing the grimm instantly.

If the ursa hadn't been trying to kill her, Ruby may have felt some respect for the beast. She was forced to cut that thought short though when the other ursa barreled towards her, intent on taking revenge for its fallen friend.

' _I'm just not in the mood to play with these guys anymore'_ Ruby thought to herself as she calmly watched the larger ursa charging towards her.

Lifting her scythe to a striking position for the last time this fight, Ruby gathered her aura around herself, summoning a flurry of rose petals to surround her. The ursa was too blinded by rage to do anything other than charge forward at this point, and Ruby was going to take full advantage of that.

Right before the ursa made contact with Ruby, she rolled out of the way and fired the gun on her scythe, using the momentum to pivot herself into a standing position and with the point of her weapon on a collision course for the weak spot in the ursa's bone plate.

Though there was still a little bit of armor left on the weak point Ruby had made earlier, the ursa did most of the work for her with its mindless charge. That, with the added strength of Ruby's aura, caused the beast to fall.

Once more sighing to herself and folding Crescent Rose away and into it's holster, Ruby watched the larger ursa fade back into the nothingness it came from. The smaller one already having done so in the fight with the larger one. ' _I wonder where they disappear to when they go poof like that'_ Ruby thought to herself as she checked herself over for any injuries before once again setting off to her mother's grave.

The rest of the walk to the grave was relatively peaceful, with only one or two stray beowolves attacking Ruby along the way. They were dispatched, quickly. Ruby was not in the mood to "play" with any grimm since the two ursa from earlier had given her a bad taste in her mouth.

It was night when she finally reached the clearing that marked her mother's grave. It had a tranquil air, almost as if nothing bad had ever happened there, but Ruby knew better. After all, in the very center of the clearing was the stone that marked where she had buried her mother.

Ruby was surprised that there weren't any grimm tracks in the clearing though. It was like no grimm had set foot in the place since the tragic night two years ago. ' _It's not like something like that is possible. Right?'_ she asked herself hoping she had an answer for it.

After a minute of thinking, Ruby pushed the thought to the back of her mind. She had more important things to do than pretending to know why grimm do what they do.

She tried to approach the grave as calmly as she could, but she still felt the grief flooding her mind. ' _It's just not fair, if only I hadn't been with you. You could have easily beat those beowolves mom.'_ Ruby thought to herself.

Sitting on the ground next to the gravestone, "I-I just want you back mommy" she whispered while letting the tears from two years ago fall again. "I-I k-know I tried to b-be strong for you mommy, but I'm always so scared. I don't like this place."

Ruby didn't know if her mom was able to hear her, but she had to get her feelings and emotions out. She then remembered the note, and gently took it out from where she had kept it safe in her breast pocket underneath her hoodie, and she began to read (If you would like to see the letter said, please refer to the very top of this chapter. It is everything in italics).

By the end Ruby was incoherent and a mess. She just let the tears and snot flow though, since this was the only time she knew she would be able to act her age. She did manage to place the unfolded note on a smooth part of the gravestone before she let the tears and grief ease her into sleep.

Ruby was woken from her dreams by unnatural sounds off in the distance. It normally wouldn't have been enough to wake someone up, but she was a light sleeper. After the few times a grimm entered her cave and nearly killed her, she wasn't taking any chances.

Wiping off the dried snot and tears from her face, Ruby stood up. She made sure that the letter to her mother was secured with a rock, and that it wasn't going to be moving anytime soon. Then, once she was satisfied and ready to go, Ruby started running in the direction of the noises, intent on finding out what the source was.

It wasn't too long before Ruby was close enough to the noise that she could sense the presence of a lot of something. They weren't grimm, she couldn't feel the total darkness that was unique to them. These were different, it's almost as if they were all vibrant lights, and Ruby had no idea what they could be.

Deciding to get a closer look, Ruby sprinted up the side of a tree and vaulted onto one of the upper branches. ' _Whatever they are, they didn't seem to notice me, so I'll just watch from here'_ she thought to herself as she pulled Crescent Rose out and put it in its gun form.

Her breath hitched as she looked through the scope. She had once again seen a person. It had been a long two years, but she had finally found civilization.

She desperately wanted to run up to the first person she met and give them a really big hug, but she knew she had to restrain herself. The thing that looked like a village was in the middle of her forest, and after looking around some, she knew there wasn't anything close by. It made sense to her that people would be cautious around her since she appeared out of nowhere. No, if she was going to hug someone, she had to be smart about it.

While she was searching the surrounding area, Ruby noticed the only road leading into town. She ran back to the road and then parallel to it for some distance, once she figured she wouldn't be seen by the people in the village, she dropped to the road. She knew it was going to be a long trek since she had to walk the distance she had run at her top speeds, but if it meant people then Ruby didn't care.

She lifted the hood of her hoodie to cover her hair just in case she needed to run away, and didn't want the guards of the village seeing her. Her hair was a bit unique, and while she took pride in it, she knew very well to be cautious.

She made sure everything was good and secured, and that she could easily reach Crescent Rose if she needed to, before continuing the journey to the village gate.

When she arrived the sun was high in the sky, but she wasn't paying attention to that. She was too focused on the people she could sense waiting for her on the other side of the wall, and how she would hug them all.

"Halt," one of the guards standing in front of the gate ordered her. She found no reason not to do so, so Ruby stood still and waited for the guards to continue. "What is your business here?" the other guard continued.

"Oh, just a visit. I just wanted to look around, if that's okay?" Ruby replied, throwing her biggest puppy eyes in there at the end for good measure. Not even the gods could resist something that adorable, so the guards caved pretty quickly and let her through. "Have a good time in there," they called out to her as she passed them. She gave them a wave and her biggest smile in return. They both thought to themselves, ' _what a nice girl.'_

Turning back to the town after waving to the two nice guards, Ruby stopped herself from squealing in delight at both the town, and its inhabitants. On the one hand, a town meant civilization, and that meant she might not have to live in the forest anymore. She didn't know where she would go, but she remembered that she had an uncle, so she would at least try contacting him first.

The other reason Ruby wanted to squeal in delight was that every single resident of the town had a second set of animal ears on their heads, and Ruby loved it. She wanted to go out and touch all of them, but for some reason she could tell that if she did, it wouldn't go over so well for her.

Lost in thought, she didn't sense the person in front of her until she walked into them, sending both herself and the person she had collided with to the ground. ' _Hey who does she think she- OH! SHE'S SO CUTE!'_ Ruby thought to herself as she glanced up at the person she had run into. Even though the girl was glaring at her, she looked more like a kitten trying to be a lion than anything else, and it was adorable.

Ruby realized that she shouldn't stare at the girl's beautiful black kitten ears more than necessary, and quickly stood up to offer a hand to the girl. The girl ignored Ruby's outstretched hand, and got to her feet with catlike grace. Even though the girl was still trying to intimidate Ruby, she was failing hard, and it was only causing Ruby to adore her even more. Seeing that her intimidation was going nowhere, the girl just gave up and walked away.

"Wait! I didn't get your name." Ruby yelled out to the retreating figure of the girl. She was ignored, but Ruby couldn't do anything about it. Sure, she really wanted to get to know the cat girl since they seemed close in age, but she couldn't help it if the other girl didn't want to be friends.

Sighing inwardly, Ruby collected her thoughts, and set about finding a place to get something to eat, and maybe sleep later that night. The village wasn't too large, but it was decently sized and there were a number of buildings scattered throughout. Luckily some of the buildings had signs hanging from the doors to let people know what was inside, but Ruby had the reading level of a five year old, so she could only rely on the pictures on the signs.

It took her about five minutes of walking around before she spotted a sign with what looked like food on it. Walking into the place, Ruby could feel her stomach growling at the wonderful smells that seemed to hang in the air. Ruby chose a seat near the back and away from everyone else, and quietly looked over the menu.

"Anything I can get you?" a voice asked, snapping Ruby out of her daze. "I would recommend the burger myself, but you may not be a carnivore." Glancing at the menu and realizing there were two different sides, one for vegetarians and another for carnivores, Ruby turned her attention towards the waitress once again. "I think I'll have to try that burger then," Ruby replied to the patiently waiting girl. "I think you'll enjoy it," the waitress said with a small smile as she walked off.

Ruby didn't have to wait very long before her burger was ready and set in front of her. Wishing her the best, the waitress left Ruby in peace to let her fully enjoy the burger. Turning back to the meal sitting in front of her, Ruby could feel herself starting to drool. It had been so long since she had last eaten any real food, and she was going to savor the burger as much as she could.

She cautiously took a bite out of the burger, making sure she didn't spill any juices. When that first bite hit her taste buds though, Ruby jumped in both shock and joy. Her tongue was dancing because of the perfectly seasoned and juicy burger, and she wasn't going to deny herself that pleasure.

Needless to say, the rest of the burger went down much quicker than the first bite, much to Ruby's regret, but she enjoyed every single bite so she couldn't complain too much. She did take her time with the fries however, and made sure to properly savor each one as she ate it.

Compared to the plants and occasional rabbit she ate in the forest, it was as if she had died and gone to heaven, but all too soon her meal was gone. Her stomach was content for the first time in two years however, and Ruby was truly happy.

Sighing and deciding that she had spent enough time stalling, Ruby paid for her meal using the small bit of money that had been in the bag of supplies. She always kept it on her just in case a situation called for it, and she was glad she hadn't forgotten it the day she found the village. Thanking the waitress, and giving her compliments to the chef, Ruby walked left the restaurant and wandered around the village.

By the time Ruby had fully explored the village and knew where everything was, the sky was gradually getting darker. It wouldn't be long before most things closed for the night, so Ruby set off to find the inn she had passed earlier in the day.

It didn't take her too long, as the inn was one of the biggest buildings in the village. She just hoped that they still had a room available that she could sleep in. It wasn't that she couldn't sleep in a tree branch, but this close to civilization Ruby wanted to sleep in an actual bed. She wasn't even going to let herself think about a warm shower though. She didn't want to get her hopes up, and then have them dashed. That would be too cruel.

' _At least they're still open'_ Ruby thought to herself as she walked through the door of the inn and into a large lobby. She quickly glanced around the room to make sure that she was indeed at an inn. She was relieved when it did in fact look like an inn (or what she assumed was an inn), and doubly so when she glanced at the front counter and spotted a few keys hanging off the peg board behind the innkeep.

Ruby tried her best to casually walk up to the front desk, but her excitement caused her to half skip there. The bear-like man at the front desk tried his best to hold back a chuckle, but Ruby could see the mirth in his eyes, and flushed in embarrassment. "Do you need a room little miss?" the man asked, still amused by Ruby's excitement. Ruby, not trusting her voice in her embarrassment, just nodded her head.

After handing over the appropriate amount of money from her dwindling supply, and listening to the rules of the inn, Ruby let her excitement take over and skipped to the room (only once she was out of sight of the innkeep of course). She quickly unlocked the door to her room and slipped inside, making sure that the door didn't slam shut behind her.

The first thing she did in her room was check for a shower. She was lucky with the bed, but if there was a shower too it was going to be perfect. Luckily for her, the gods were smiling upon her, because there, in all its glory in the bathroom, stood the one thing that Ruby had wanted more than anything else, a shower.

She let the tears of joy flow as she flopped down to the floor in exhaustion. She was just so happy she couldn't contain herself. She gave herself a few minutes to cry her tears, and then decided that enough was enough, and stood up.

She turned the knob to get the water flowing from the shower head before she stripped out of her clothes. She had forgotten to bring another set of clothes with her because she hadn't figured she would find a town while visiting her mother's grave. She knew she could still run and get another set of clothes, but even if she did decide to do so, it would still take a while at her full speed, and Ruby was too tired for it.

She let the water get to the right temperature before she stepped in. Her body was assaulted by the relentless barrage of water droplets that cascaded down her bare skin, but she was content. The water was warm enough to heat the slight chill she had, but not hot enough that it was uncomfortable. In other words it was perfect. ' _I wish I could just sit in here forever.'_ she thought to herself as she stood under the shower head, letting the torrent of droplets rain down on her.

Ruby knew that she couldn't stay in the shower forever though, and quickly washed her hair and body before getting lost in thought under the relaxing shower.

It was about an hour later when Ruby finally got out, and she lazily put on her clothes after she dried off enough. She could actually take her time dressing, and she took full advantage of it since the shower had left her tired and pruny.

Before she could go to sleep however, she remembered her uncle and that she needed to send a message to him somehow. She didn't have that much money, so she wouldn't be able to stay at the inn that long. Even if he didn't want to care for her, she thought she would at least contact her uncle and tell him that she was alright. She could always find a job, and work for the money to stay in the inn.

Making up her mind, she quietly stepped out from her room and casually made her way to the front desk. She was happy to see that the bear-like man was still working the counter, and that nobody else was in the lobby. She made sure that the towel was secure on her head before walking the rest of the way to the desk though. She knew she didn't have the extra set of ears everyone else did, and she didn't want to be kicked out because of it.

"Oh? If it isn't the little miss again. What can I do for you?" the man politely asked.

"Um, I was wondering if you could send a message for me." she nervously replied.

"Hmm, I should be able to." He said as he pulled out a single sheet of paper and a simple pen. "Alright, just write your message on this paper right here, and I'll send it off for you."

"Thank you mister!" Ruby gleefully said while she took the pen and paper.

She ran off to a table on the other side of the room before the kindly innkeeper could reply, and started to write her letter.

_Dear Uncle Qrow,_

_I don't know if you're still looking for me and mom or not (it has been two years), but I wanted to let you know that I'm alright._

_Mom died two years ago protecting me from the beowolves that overran our town, and it's been tiring. I've wanted to quit so many times and let the forest kill me, but I have to make mom proud so I'm surviving._

_I'm in a town in the forest called ..._

"Hey mister," Ruby said to the only other person in the room, "what's the name of this town?"

"Ah, that's an easy one. The name is Overwatch, but I'm surprised you didn't know that little miss." the man replied without missing a beat.

Ignoring the last half of the man's reply Ruby gave her thanks to the man, and continued writing.

…  _Overwatch._

_I don't know how long I'll be able to stay here since my money is running out, but I'll try to be here for as long as I can. If I'm not in Overwatch I'll leave a note with the innkeeper at the Bear's Paw Inn, telling you where to find me._

_I'm tired uncle, and I just want to see someone from my family again._

_Love,_

_Your Niece, Ruby Rose_

Content with what she wrote, Ruby folded up the sheet of paper and walked back to the front counter. "Here you go mister, and thanks for helping me like this." Ruby said to the man while handing over both the letter and pen.

"Of course little miss. It is my pleasure to help." he calmly replied.

Saying one more thanks to the man and giving him the purest smile Ruby could muster, she walked back to her room and locked the door behind her. Now that she had sent a letter to her uncle, she could finally relax and enjoy sleeping in an actual bed, and not on a cave floor.

Disregarding anything else, Ruby threw herself onto her bed, and let herself fall into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

Ruby woke up suddenly and jolted off her bed. Something was wrong. That much she could feel, but she didn't know what.

Checking the time, she saw that it was about three in the morning. Everything was quiet, but something was off to her, and she had learned to trust her instincts pretty quickly living in the forest.

She hastily grabbed Crescent Rose, and threw it into its holster on her belt. After she was sure Crescent Rose wasn't going anywhere, she used her semblance to near instantly gather the rest of her things, and secure them to herself (she didn't have much, so it was fairly easy for her).

Just in time too, because right when she had finished checking everything over a second time, the three men she had just sensed kicked down her door. Before she had a chance to draw her weapon however, a dart was launched from a crossbow one of the men carried, and she couldn't dodge it in time.

It pierced the skin of her neck, but didn't go very deep. It did make Ruby feel incredibly sleepy, but before she could realize she had been poisoned, Ruby fell unconscious.

She regained consciousness only a minute after she passed out (mostly due to the poisonous plants she accidentally ate from time to time giving her a slight immunity. She would say she couldn't help it, they looked safe at the time), but it was still only a state of half-awareness. She couldn't move any limbs, only listen and look at what was going on around her.

"Are we still going to take this one? She's a human." she heard the one closest to her ask. She assumed it was the one carrying her.

"Yes. She may be human, but she's still young. At the very least she'll be disposable if she fails any of her missions." another voice said, this one distinctly lower and more powerful. She assumed this one was the leader of the three.

"Doesn't matter. We were paid to load up any children we found onto this truck and send them off to those guys." the last member of the group said.

She could feel herself being shifted as the one carrying her adjusted her over his shoulder, before tossing her into what she assumed was the truck the three had been talking about. She took the time to glance around her even though she couldn't clearly see anything since her eyes were still bleary, but Ruby could sense another presence in the truck with her.

Ruby didn't dare move before she knew the other three had left the truck, likely to find other children to kidnap. Once she was sure she was safe, she groggily tried to sit herself up, but fell back to the floor of the truck when her strength failed her. She felt the other person in the truck approach, but she couldn't see who it was since she had closed her eyes in the hope the bleariness faded away faster.

She felt gentle, but strong hands lift her up to a sitting position before once again leaving her, almost as if the other person was afraid of her. Ruby tried to open her eyes again, and to her delight she could actually see out of them again. It wasn't perfect, and Ruby knew the drug was still in her system, but she could at least see the other person stuck in this predicament with her.

"Thank you. Do you know-" Ruby began to say, but stopped when she realized who the other person was. It was the same girl she had bumped into when she first entered the town, only now with tears running down her face, and shivering from fear. "Hey, are you okay?"

"... N-no." the other girl finally replied after what felt like a few minutes. "I-I'm s-scared."

"Well don't worry, I don't know what they have planned, but we're still alright, and that's a good thing." Ruby tried to ease the girl, but knew she was failing horribly. "Besides, I'm here and they forgot to disarm me. I'll get us out of this mess. I promise."

"R-really?" the girl asked with hope bursting forth in her eyes.

"I promised didn't I?" Ruby replied as she gave the girl a reassuring smile.

Ruby received a smile from the girl in return, and before Ruby could continue talking the girl asked, "w-what's your name?"

A bit surprised that the girl had asked first, Ruby responded, "I'm Ruby Rose. A pleasure to meet you, though I do wish it had been at a different time. What's your name?"

Before the girl responded, she wiped the tears and snot off her face and tried her best to calmly face Ruby before continuing, "I-I'm Blake. Blake Belladonna."


	4. Alone

“I-I’m Blake. Blake Belladonna.”

Ruby paused for a minute to let the girl’s name sink in before she smiled and replied, “I like that name. I think it fits you very well.” If Blake was going to be Ruby’s only option for company until they reached their destination, she wanted to at least be on friendly terms with the girl. ‘ _I don’t really “need” to talk to her, I mean I’ve been alone in a forest for two years, but it might help with the boredom_ ’ Ruby thought to herself, suppressing her true desires. She secretly wanted to break the rope binding her, and run over to Blake to stroke her soft-looking kitty ears, but Ruby wasn’t going to let that slip anytime... ever. Especially in front of Blake.

While wrapped up in her delusions of kitty ears, Ruby didn’t notice Blake’s face flush in embarrassment. For Blake, she felt her embarrassment was natural. After all, it was the first nice thing any human had ever said to her, and because Blake misunderstood Ruby’s innocent praise as flirtations, the effect was doubled.

It wasn’t until Blake got a hold of her emotions and stifled her embarrassment that Ruby snapped out of her daze. ‘ _I didn’t think it was possible to get that messy in a dream, but after all that milk … I’m only glad that me and Blake survived that._ ’ Ruby thought to herself.

She gave her head one last good shake to make sure that the dream was gone before once again turning her attention to Blake... who had been unconsciously staring at Ruby since she started daydreaming. Shrugging off the stare, Ruby thought she might as well try to talk to Blake.

“So…” Ruby began. She didn’t know where the truck was going to take them, but since it still hadn’t departed there was still plenty of time to escape. Hoping Blake might know a bit more than Ruby did, she continued, “do you know where they plan on taking us?”

Blake was surprised by Ruby’s sudden question, ‘ _How could she not know? The White Fang are notorious, and even those three men had White Fang symbols on them._ ’ Then, it all clicked into place for Blake. The reason Ruby wasn’t scared of the situation they were in... was because she had no idea who had kidnapped them.

Blake mentally cursed herself for believing Ruby could get them out of there. Nobody could fight back against the White Fang, especially not a little girl like Ruby. It was hopeless and she knew it, so she did the only thing she could. She began to cry.

“H-Hey are you okay Blake?” Ruby hesitantly asked. She didn’t know why her question had caused Blake to start crying, but if the people that had taken them were that bad, they were in a worse situation than Ruby had thought.

“... less.” Ruby heard Blake mutter.

“Um Blake, could you repeat that? I didn’t hear what you said.”

“It’s … less.” Blake sobbed out. Once again Ruby couldn’t hear what Blake had said and tried her best to calmly ask Blake to repeat it one more time. Hopefully this time, Blake would have calmed down enough that she’d be understandable.

“I said it’s hopeless, Ruby!” Blake near screamed at her only company. Well, there goes that whole “calm” idea. Seeing Ruby’s shock at her outburst, Blade quietly added, “...Sorry.”

“It’s alright Blake, but who are these guys? For them to make you so scared like that, they must be terrible.” Ruby tried to ask with a steady voice. Blake could tell she had made Ruby scared though, and she hated herself for it.

Blake did her best to calm herself down before she answered Ruby’s question. She didn’t know why Ruby didn’t know about the White Fang, but Blake couldn’t blame her for that. Somehow she just knew that Ruby was a bit separated from the world.

Taking one last deep breath, Blake steadied her nerves and began to tell her tale of the White Fang.

“Well,” Blake began, “do you know why the town was all the way out here?”

“No.” Ruby replied, “but now that I think about it, it is strange.”

‘ _It’s official, she’s an idiot._ ’ Blake thought to herself before clearing her throat and beginning again, feeling a little bit better already, “The reason there’s a town all the way out here is because humans, like you Ruby, don’t like faunus, like me.”

“What?! I don’t hate you Blake!” Ruby loudly interrupted.

“No Ruby, not you. I just meant humans in general… and for the record ... _too_ ” Although the last part came out as an inaudible whisper, Blake was glad Ruby didn’t seem to care and had settled down enough to listen to the rest of her story.

“So, as I was saying, the reason there’s a town out here is because humans and faunus aren’t that friendly with each other. The faunus wanted a place away from humans that they could live in peace, and that’s where Overwatch comes in. It’s a place that you can only find out about if you’re a faunus, so honestly I’m a bit surprised you found this place.” Blake said, and then thinking about her last sentence she added, “How did you find this place?”

“Ah,” Ruby started nervously, “I was just taking a walk in the woods and found the road leading in.” Seeing Blake’s disbelieving look, Ruby continued, “It’s true! I was just so happy to find a town out here that although I thought everyone would be cautious of me just being there, I couldn’t help myself. That’s the only reason I’m here. I promise.”

“Well I suppose it really doesn’t matter much anymore honestly,” Blake sighed. “Nothing we can do about it now.”

Blake adjusted herself before she continued her story, “Anyway, as I was saying, Overwatch was a community of faunus that tried to live away from humans and away from the insults. However, while this town was the popular opinion of the faunus where I’m from, there was another group that thought we, the faunus, should fight for our freedoms.”

Blake took a breath, and looked at Ruby before continuing the story, “These faunus, the ones that we’re most likely being sent to, are called the White Fang. Like I said earlier, they wanted to fight against the humans and earn our freedoms instead of hiding away and secluding ourselves. However, even though they originally started out peacefully protesting and arguing against the humans, they were ignored and beaten. Over time that caused the White Fang to change, and now they’re nothing better than terrorists.”

Ruby waited for Blake to calm down from her obvious anger at the White Fang. She didn’t know why Blake felt so strongly towards the White Fang, but she had a feeling she was going to find out.

Berating herself for losing her cool, especially in front of Ruby, Blake collected herself and began the story of her experience with the White Fang…

_\----- 2 years earlier - Blake’s Point of View -----_

I wonder why Mom and Dad wanted me to stay inside today. I don’t think today is a special day, but that’s okay. I’ll just curl up with a good book I suppose.

While thinking that, I got up from my comfy spot on the couch (even though I _really_ didn’t want to), and walked to my room where all the stories and adventures I owned were stored.

Ah yeah, I like books by the way. They’re like separate worlds that people can go to just through reading them. It’s much better than this world at least. In this world, everyone is mean to people like me, and I don’t understand why. It’s not like we’re that different from everyone else. We just happen to have things like animal ears. Are these ears so strange that everyone has to be mean to us?

.. I don’t know, and it’s not like I can do anything about it. Even those people who appear on TV, who Mom calls “bad guys” tried to talk with the humans, but they failed. I overhear Mom and Dad talking about them sometimes, and it seems they’re doing terrible things to get people to do what they want now. Don’t they realize that nothing is going to get done that way though?

Maybe when I’m older I’ll study hard and get smart enough to try and reason with the humans. Well, for now though, I think I’ll read a good book.

_BOOM_

What was that!? It sounded like a terrifying monster roared in town, but there are guards at the walls, and those walls are supposed to be big enough that nothing can get in. I hear shouting and screaming in the town though, so d-did a monster get in?

I quickly put down my book and rush to throw on some better clothes. I know Mom and Dad told me not to go outside, but since there’s a monster in town I need to be ready to go if Mom and Dad burst in and tell me we have to leave.

After making sure I’m happy with the clothes I put on, I run to the living room where we had a big window facing the town. Maybe I’ll be able to see the monster from the window.

Before I could make it to the window though, Mom and Dad burst through the doors in a panic. I’ve never seen them look so scared. I guess a really big monster _is_ in the town, but the guards are all big and strong. They should be able to take care of it.

Mom and Dad told me to pack a few things up though. I guess we’re going to be leaving town for a little while? Oh well, I just need to pack up some things and not worry about it too much. That monster can’t be _too_ bad right?

We left only a few minutes after Mom and Dad showed up. It seems things were more serious than I thought. There were lots of people on the streets, and many people like my family had a bunch of things packed up and were leaving.

I asked Mom where we were going, but she only told me to be as quiet as possible, and that we were going somewhere safe. I was starting to get a bit scared, but Mom said we were going somewhere safe, so I tried to focus on that.

We took the back alleys and side streets as much as we could while we were heading to the gates. I think we were lucky we lived near the edges of the town though. It was much easier to escape like this than if we had been living in the center.

It wasn’t until we were about to pass the gates that I realized that the “roar” I heard while I was reading my book, wasn’t a roar, but something much worse. It was at the gates where there was a line of guards blocking the exit. The terrible thing was that there were many broken faunus lying at the feet of the guards. They were so badly injured and beaten it made me want to throw up.

We were still protected by the massive amount of people at the gates, but for some reason I knew that it wouldn’t last long. Mom seemed to know this as well, and she crouched down next to me. She told me that there was a village in the forest where no humans lived, and that it would be safe. She even handed me a map to the village, and told me to be careful.

I was starting to get scared, but Mom and Dad just looked at me lovingly and told me that they loved me with all their heart before they started running with me being dragged behind them. It didn’t take us very long to reach the line of guards, and before I knew it they had thrown me over the line of guards and told me to run. Run as fast as I could go, and not to look back.

Although I was scared, I knew that I had to listen to my parents, so I ran. I didn’t stop running until I was unable to run anymore, and I collapsed exhausted in the nearby forest. It wasn’t the forest that I had to go to, but it was close enough that I could get to it in a day.

I was scared, and alone though, and the forest was a dark place. The darkness wasn’t too bad since all faunus have natural night vision, but just because I had night vision didn’t mean I wasn’t afraid of the dark. I had to keep going though, had to keep going to that village Mom told me about, and hope that Mom and Dad made it out as well. I hope I’ll find them waiting for me when I get there.

I didn’t have any problems until I got to the gates of the village. Although it took me two days to get there, I managed to avoid the monsters that were on the way. At the gate however, was the largest grimm I had ever seen.

It had to have been well over 6 meters tall, and it had plates all over its body. I thought I was going to die, and that this would be it, this would be the end of Blake Belladonna’s story.

Before it noticed me though, a group of faunus jumped out from the town walls, and surrounded the beast. I thought for sure they were going to die, but instead they easily beat down the grimm. It was like I was watching a dance, and every time the huge grimm threw out a fist, the person at the other end of the attack would move like water and gracefully avoid the blow. It was amazing to me.

It didn’t take them long to finish up with the grimm, and it looked like the only trouble they had with it, was figuring out where to hit it. However, once they found the right spot, it went down almost too quickly. I was too happy to think about their strength though, and rushed over to the group to thank them. If it wasn’t for them I probably would have died after all.

I think they were a bit startled after I came running out of the woods, but I obviously didn’t pose much of a threat to them, so they relaxed a bit and waited for me to reach them. After I reached them, and before any of them could say anything, I blurted out a heartfelt thank you and did what my Mom showed me once, bowing my head in gratitude.

I think they were a bit startled at my thanks, but quickly recovered and laughed it off. Then they asked me a couple questions like, “Where are you from?” and “Where are your parents?”. I answered them honestly since they didn’t seem like bad people, and although I cried a little when I talked about my parents, they didn’t mind. Actually, one of the female members of the group crouched down and hugged me.

After that, we all walked into the town and I started living with the female that had hugged me when I was crying about my parents.

_\----- Present time -----_

“She, along with the other five, taught me how to take care of myself and survive in the forest. I guess they didn’t expect other faunus would kidnap me though.” Blake concluded with a sigh. She felt better after telling her story to Ruby, but she couldn’t help but be a little nervous about Ruby’s reaction to the story.

Blake glanced up at Ruby from the corner of her eyes, and saw Ruby with a confused expression on her face. Sighing to herself once again (a bad habit she would pick up whenever she was with Ruby in the future), Blake could guess what Ruby was wondering about.

“If you’re wondering what all this has to do with the White Fang, I found out a year after I entered this town that it was the White Fang who had attacked my town and caused that roaring noise I mentioned. Because of what they did, the humans of the town had started hunting the faunus living there, even though we were living peacefully!” Blake yells in exasperation before continuing, “Oh, and in case you’re wondering, no. I never did meet with my parents again.” Blake finished before Ruby could say anything.

Blake waited a few minutes before she heard Ruby’s response. She did feel better now that she had gotten everything off of her chest, but at the same time, she wasn’t sure it was such a good idea to do that to someone she had just met. Even if Ruby did somehow give off the feeling of a long time friend.

“Tch, how stupid.”

Blake wasn’t entirely sure she had heard Ruby say anything and she hoped she hadn’t heard what she thought she did. She didn’t want to think that after telling Ruby her life story, she would be shot down so ruthlessly. So, mustering up as much courage as she could, she hesitantly asked Ruby, “D-did you say something?”

Ruby, jumped out of whatever trance she had been in due to Blake’s words, and hastily replied, “Ah, no no. I’m sorry Blake, I wasn’t calling your story stupid.” Ruby, getting angrier by the second, continued, “I meant that the White Fang were stupid. How could they endanger so many innocent people!? On top of all that, you still haven’t met back up with your parents! How awful!”

Blake could tell that Ruby was angry, far angrier than she had ever seen anyone actually, and although she wouldn’t admit it, at that moment, she was afraid of Ruby. However, what she didn’t fully understand was why Ruby was so angry. Sure, the past made Blake angry as well, but she had accepted it and moved on. She still didn’t like the White Fang, but she wasn’t too upset about the loss of her parents. It wasn’t like she had been alone these past two years.

With those thoughts in mind, she gave voice to her curiosity. “Ruby, why are you so angry? Sure, it wasn’t nice of the White Fang to do that, but that was two years ago. I’m alright now.” First, she had to make sure what Ruby’s anger was focused on. She didn’t believe it was the fact that the White Fang had driven her out of her home, but she also couldn’t believe that Ruby would be angry about her parents either.

“No,” Ruby began, “it’s not the attack. Although it does make me angry, I’m more angry about the fact that you haven’t seen your parents in two years because of them!”

There it was. Blake had succeeded in finding out what Ruby was angry about, but she still didn’t understand the “why” behind it. Once again, she gave voice to her thoughts, “Why are you mad about that though, Ruby? I admit, I miss my parents deeply, but I’ve been alright. The one I told you about earlier, the female member of that group who took down the grimm when I first got here, I’ve been living with her this whole time.” At this point, Blake’s curiosity had won over her fear.

Ruby couldn’t blame Blake for being curious. After all, it’s not like she could have known that Ruby had been living by herself in a grimm-infested forest for the past two years. However, it still brought up bad memories and brought an edge to her voice. She didn’t want to ruin her first friendship like this, but she couldn’t help it. The memories were too powerful. Ruby began, “Like you, I also lost my parents. However, I didn’t have a village or someone friendly to help me survive. I’ve been all by myself for these past two years, while you’ve been living in peace!”

Blake couldn’t help the surprise that showed on her face. She never would have thought that Ruby was even worse off than she was. Although the edge that was in Ruby’s voice stung, Blake knew it was only because Ruby was hurt. However, before she could begin to comfort the girl, Ruby began to cry.

In all fairness, it was a bit much to expect Blake to react properly in this situation. She was still a young girl, and didn’t have much contact with humans anyway. In the end though, Blake managed to resolve herself, and scoot over to Ruby, wrapping her in as gentle an embrace as Blake could manage. Luckily, the chain keeping them in the truck was long enough to cover the distance.

Blake was content to let Ruby sob into her shoulder for a while. For some reason, Ruby seemed to perfectly fit, and Blake was comfortable. On top of that, Ruby was warm. If the two weren’t in such a bad situation, Blake might have even fallen asleep. However, it seemed fate didn’t intend to keep the two together, because after a few minutes of “comforting” Blake heard the telltale signs of people approaching.

Hastily, Blake separated herself from Ruby, and quickly scooted back to the other side of the truck. Ruby’s questioning and lonely gaze stung a bit, and honestly, Blake didn’t know why she had done that either. Was she embarrassed because she had been hugging a human and didn’t want the White Fang to know about it? She didn’t have time to think about it, because not long after she settled back down, the men who had kidnapped both her and Ruby had returned. This time however, they were empty handed.

“Ah, so Little Red is awake.” One of the men said as he got within eyesight of the two captured girls.

“Awake and secure.” another of the men responded.

“Doesn’t matter. Seems there’s no other children here though. What a shame, seems we won’t be making too much off of this trip, boys.” the leader added on. He continued, “Now, let’s get out of here. We haven’t been spotted yet, and I’d like to keep it that way.”

Ruby and Blake both watched as the men walked away from the back of the truck, and towards the front. One watched in fear, and the other in preparation for when she would make her move. Although Ruby hadn’t expected to suddenly start crying in front of Blake, she had more important things to worry about now.

However, before the men could enter the cab of the truck and begin their journey, and before Ruby could free herself and Blake from the chains binding them, a voice sounded out. “Oh? And where exactly do you think you’re taking those two?”

Four people jolted in shock at the voice, and one person adopted a smile. Ruby, one of the four who had been shocked by that voice, looked across the truck at Blake, who was smiling. ‘ _It seems this voice is a friend,_ ’ Ruby thought to herself. She couldn’t detect the owner of the voice, but she blamed that on the poison likely still coursing through her system. She didn’t get the time to think about it though.

“Show yourself!” the leader roared. How could they have been discovered? He had been doing this job for a while now, and they had never been caught before. Sure, there were a few times a mistake was made, and their guard was lowered, but they still never alerted anyone. Or, at least that’s what he had thought.

Interrupting his thoughts, a woman walked into view, laughing. Ruby didn’t recognize the woman, but upon seeing her, Blake shouted out, “Rea!”

Still laughing, the woman, “Rea”, lightly waved to Blake, glanced at Ruby, and then returned her attention to the three men. Her expression as she looked at them wasn’t nearly as kind. “It seems I’ve got a few rats who tried kidnapping our children. I wonder what I should do with you three.” Rea said menacingly.

At this point, the two other men were shaking in their boots. This woman in front of them scared them, but they didn’t know why. The boss was only barely hanging on himself. However, he still managed to maintain his cover, and prepare himself. Roaring at the other two to get over their fear, the leader rushes towards Rea, intent on getting this over with so he could get paid.

Both Ruby and Blake were wondering how Rea was going to deal with this situation. Blake wondered how she was going to be able to defeat three White Fang members all by herself, and Ruby was thinking about whether or not she’d be able to defeat the three of them if she were in Rea’s position.

However, unexpectedly, right as the leader neared her, and was about to go in for a punch to the face, Rea casually steps to the side and delivers a punch to the man’s abdomen. Even from where Blake and Ruby were, a sickening crunch could be heard. The man was blown away by the attack, and didn’t seem to be standing up anytime soon.

Blake, as could be expected, was surprised by this display of power, and didn’t know what to make of it. She knew that Rea was strong, but she didn’t know that she was _this_ strong. Ruby, on the other hand, had already unlocked her aura, and knew that aura is what this Rea had used to coat her fist. Ruby hadn’t expected aura to be so powerful against people without aura though.

‘ _If that’s the case,_ ’ Ruby thinks to herself, ‘ _then can’t I do the same?_ ’

With such thoughts floating around in her head, Ruby decides to look at the chains for the first time. They weren’t too rusted, but they weren’t new either, Ruby observed. If she tried (and added a little aura) she should be able to cut through the chains with her scythe. Ruby, not one for hesitation, immediately drew her scythe from the hidden area under her hoodie and quickly cut through the chain binding her. She also went ahead and cut Blake’s chain since it didn’t make sense not to.

“W-what?” Blake stuttered. It seems that after seeing Rea’s display of power, Ruby’s display had broken her mind. She managed to continue, “H-how did you do that? I didn’t think you could cut through chains like that!?”

Ruby, smirking at the fact she had managed to surprise Blake, replied, “Hehe, I told you I could get us out of here.”

While still smirking, Ruby jumps down from the truck, looking back at Blake and holding out her hand. Embarrassed, Blake still takes Ruby’s hand and jumps off of the truck herself. Just in time for her to feel the wisps of heat from Ruby’s hand before the girl in red dashes off towards Rea and the remaining men.

Before Blake could process what Ruby was doing, and call out to her, Ruby had reached the closest man. Coating her own fist in aura, Ruby sent a punch towards the man who still had yet to notice her.

Although there was no sickening crunch this time, the blow did still end up dropping the man. While he was in the process of falling, Rea finished off the last man with a quick jab of her own.

Impressed by the fact the girl had been able to use aura (and effectively enough to drop a grown man at that), Rea began to head over to Ruby, intent on asking her a few questions. However, there was someone else who was impressed by Ruby, and Rea had to hold back a chuckle as Blake tackled the girl off her feet, causing the two of them to fall onto the ground.

Blushing a bit, Ruby poked Blake’s shoulder. The girl was currently burying her face into Ruby’s chest, and squeezing her tightly. “Um, Blake?” Ruby questioned. She wasn’t sure why her friend was acting like this, but she was relieved they were both safe at least.

“...” Blake muttered into Ruby’s chest. It tickled Ruby a little, but since Ruby hadn’t heard what Blake said, she decided to be a little naughty. Very, very slowly, almost imperceptibly, Ruby’s fingers started making their way to Blake’s sides. Then, like a lion pouncing upon its prey, Ruby’s fingers struck!

Surprised at the sudden assault, and unable to hold back her natural reflex, Blake jumped up and hastily retreated. All the while, Rea was laughing at the two who seemingly had forgotten she was there.

Embarrassed, both with slight blushes on their faces, get up and face Rea. It seemed her laughter had finally broken the spell between the two.

Rea, for the most part, tried not to laugh anymore, but still let out a chuckle or two when she thought back to a few seconds before. Finally, when she thought she had let the girls suffer enough, she spoke. “Glad you’re alright Blake. When you disappeared, I got so worried.” Turning to Ruby, she continued, “Haven’t seen you before little one, I would definitely have remembered a human who can use aura. Thank you for protecting Blake though.”

Blake, being the one most comfortable with Rea, responds first, “Thanks Rea! I don’t know what would have happened if you or Ruby weren’t there. I might have been sent to the White Fang!” she adds with a bit of venom.

Ruby, still not entirely sure about Rea, smiles towards Blake before nodding in response to Rea’s earlier words.

Seeing Ruby’s nod, Rea responds to Blake, “Actually Blake, these guys aren’t White Fang. They’re just some thugs who thought they could make a quick bit of lien by kidnapping you and Red there.”

“E-eh, b-but they had the patches and everything!” Blake stutters. ‘ _They weren’t White Fang!? They had the insignias though! How could they not be White Fang!_ ’

“A-actually Blake, I’ve been meaning to tell you for a while now, but …” Rea hesitates. That wasn’t like her, causing Blake to start worrying. Ruby, on the other hand, had an idea of what Rea was going to say, so she stepped back, letting the two have their space. Rea, too focused on straightening out her thoughts to notice the two’s reactions, continues, “You see, Blake, I … I-I’m White Fang. I didn’t want to tell you since you hated us so much, but I don’t want you to keep thinking we’re a bunch of villains either.”

Blake, as mentally strong as she was, seemingly shut down at this news. The two girls decided to give her a minute to process the information. However, before they could ask if she was alright, a sudden “How could you!” burst from Blake’s mouth as tears started to form in her eyes and she began running in the direction of the village.

‘ _At least she’s running towards safety,_ ’ Ruby sighed to herself. Glancing at Rea, she spoke “You knew she was going to react like this. She told me what happened.”

Rea, glancing at Ruby, sighed before replying, “Yeah, I knew… but I couldn’t let her misunderstanding continue. I kept putting it off since I couldn’t bring myself to hurt her like that, but after this, if I had let her keep thinking the White Fang was terrible, when she eventually finds out who I am, she’d be scarred far worse than this. I didn’t want to hurt her.”

Ruby, taking this calmly, asked Rea the most important question, “Then, answer me this, was it your White Fang who bombed her home, causing her to be separated from her parents and scared of even the name?” a bit more venom than Ruby intended was put into the question.

Rea, a bit stung by Ruby’s concern for Blake (and a bit curious as to why a human girl was so concerned about the ravenette), looked directly at Ruby before speaking. She didn’t know why, but she wanted to make sure that the girl in front of her understood the truth. “No. The White Fang was not the one who bombed her town. It was blamed on us, but we would never harm innocents to achieve our goals. However, there are those, like these three tonight,” Rea says as she gestures to the men around them before continuing, “who go around pretending to be White Fang and causing our reputation to become what it is. Their actions are inexcusable. Violence will not achieve our goals” Rea concludes with a fire in her eyes.

Rea had spoken the truth, and Ruby’s concern had been satisfied. Content, Ruby nods before speaking, “Then that’s alright. I hope you’re able to convince Blake.”

Rea, happy that Ruby believed her, nodded as well, before remembering something and put on a guilty expression.

Ruby, curious as to why Rea began acting so strange, voiced her concerns, “Rea? Why do you look like you forgot something?”

“Because … I did.” Rea starts. She didn’t want to have to do this to the one who had become friends with Blake, and especially not the one who had helped saved her, but Rea couldn’t help it. The town rules were the rules. Even someone like her had to obey them. Rea, with a regretful tone, spoke, “I’m sorry, but we can’t let you back into the town. The rules state that humans aren’t allowed in, and as much as I want to let you in, to let you stay here with us, I can’t.”

Ruby was shocked, but had expected this. She knew from Blake’s story that this was meant to be a “safe haven” for faunus. At the very least, she had made a new friend, and once again experienced the tranquility of a shower. Although she was sad, she wasn’t too heartbroken by the news.

Rea, on the other hand, saw that Ruby understood, and the guilt crashed into her like waves. She had nothing against this child and yet here she was, being forced to kick her out the village. However, a thought struck Rea, and she ran over to Ruby before deeply bowing and once again shouting out, “I’m so sorry!” She wasn’t done yet though, and continued, “if there’s anything I can do for you, please tell me. I can’t let you just walk away like this. My heart wouldn’t be able to take it.”

Thinking about it for a second, Ruby finally responds, “T-then, can you get a message to my uncle? Let him know where I am?” She could guess why Rea was acting the way she was, but it was such a stark contrast that Ruby didn’t know how to react.

“Of course!” Rea beamed at Ruby. Something like delivering a message was simple. She was a bit curious as to why Ruby wasn’t able to send the message herself, but since this was Ruby’s request, she didn’t think about it too hard.

“His name is Qrow. Qrow Branwen. I-I think he lives in a place called Patch. I’m not too sure.” Ruby took a deep breath before continuing, “Please tell him I’m in a cave a few miles over there.” Ruby says as she points in a certain direction.

‘ _A cave!? What kind of life is this girl living!?_ ’ Rea was panicked at Ruby’s words but quickly calmed herself. It wasn’t her place to ask. ‘ _However,_ ’ she thought, ‘ _maybe Blake knows. I guess I’ll need to ask her about it after I calm her down._ ’ Realizing that Ruby was looking at her expectantly, Rea coughs before saying, “Alright. Qrow Branwen, right? Two miles over there. Got it.” she nods, “Don’t worry, I’ll get the message to him as quickly as I can. I promise.”

Relieved, and finally starting to realize how tired she was, Ruby thanked Rea and glanced towards the village one last time. Wishing she could have told Blake goodbye, Ruby sadly begins her trek into the forest, eventually disappearing even from Rea’s sight.

She was heading home.


End file.
